Mind, Body and Soul Explained

The word Yoga means Union - union of mind, body and soul.

Yoga, or Union, transforms lives which I have experienced first hand, and I see it happening with those around me.

Yoga is often seen as ‘just’ a physical exercise, this is true, but to me it is way, way, more than this.

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My experience has shown me that Yoga works on many layers within us.

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You and I are more than the physical body (Annamaya Kosha), which is only the densest and most obvious manifestation of us.

But you are also an energy body (Pranamaya Kosha), a mental body (Manamaya Kosha), an intuitive body (Vijnanamaya Kosha), a bliss body (Anandamaya Kosha) and soul (consciousness).

These vibrate at different frequencies, so we do not see them in the same way as the physical body. But that doesn’t mean they are not there! For example: you can feel low in energy and high in energy (energy body). You think (mental body). You get that ‘gut instinct’ to just do something (intuitive body). You watch a sunset with a loved one…ah, that awesome moment...no words needed...connection (bliss body and connectedness).

EVERYTHING you do causes an effect.

This is natural law.

No blame or guilt in this, it is how it is.

In 2012, I was introduced to the Physiological Adaptive Range (P.A.R) chart (shown below) by a man who was treating me using the Neural Integration System (N.I.S).

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image from sunsetchiropractic.com

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He showed it to help me understand the cause and effects life had had on my physical body!

All is pretty great when you are born, but as you travel through life you injure yourself in many different ways. And I don't just mean falling over in the school playground!

Our systems are impacted on by our environment, our society, our family, our peers and our biological make up. Throughout our lives we are fated to take on ‘stuff’! In other words any thought said to ourselves or any word said out loud to another, such as put downs or praise, from rejection to love, from learnt beliefs and misunderstandings affects us on all levels of our being!

I see the body a little like the wiring of a computer hard board, for we consist of approximately 72000+ nadi (subtle nerve pathways).

Each thought/word that zaps our system, from anywhere between a cruel word to full blown violence, causes a vibrational tremor within our system.

Repeated ‘stuff’ made up of thoughts and words, over days, weeks and even years creates energy blockages within the five bodies that make up our system, ultimately manifesting through the physical body as illness…as dis-ease.

But at the centre of you, at the centre of your five bodies  (and including the five bodies) is more – it is who you really are. Some say soul, some say Consciousness, some say Creator and some say God doesn’t exist! 

As I looked at the P.A.R chart, I became more and more fascinated with the background and small red arrows, likening it to my life experiences up to then and what I was realising about who I really am. What is the space, the background, on which the words appear? What are the red arrows symbolising in my life?

Much like a blank canvas, the background to the chart is that from which thoughts evolve, become ideas, and manifest in to a creation of some sorts. It has to be there and is always there.

The same can be said for your life and mine. You started life as a baby - a blank canvas!  Your life is the painting, or indeed the chart!

As for the little red arrows – Injury doesn’t ‘just’ happen. Thought processes in the mind take us from 'a' to 'b'.

Thought processes get us to set the alarm for work, turn it off when it wakes us from a lovely dream, and get us to either grumpily or happily jump out of bed! And thought processes are fickle…just watch your mind for a day and you will see how your thoughts can swing you this way and that.

Without thoughts there is no problem. It is quiet, peaceful and each moment is lived for each moment. Thoughts create dis-ease. They create war.

Yoga (union) changes this, bringing us in to ever deepening levels of awareness of mind, body and soul. Inner reflection and enquiry, questioning 'who am I?' and being courageous in exploring one's inner world can undo injury and dis-ease within our systems. It reawakens our intuitive, inherent wisdom and opens us to more…to stillness, to oneness, to Satchitananda (Consciousness, Truth, Bliss).

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This is the creative process I explore and offer to you too.

Me before Yoga:

Physical body dis-ease: Obese, many physical health problems, on medication, poor                                                 sleep

Energy body dis-ease: exhausted, run down

Mental body dis-ease: Mental illness, super fast negative thoughts, low self esteem,                                               fearful

Intuitive body dis-ease: What intuition? Trusted others rather than myself.

Bliss body dis-ease: Not aware of it’s existence.

Core of me:  God? Hmph...what God? If He exists then why has He done this to me?!

Living Yoga more and more each day:

Physical body dis-ease:  Way less... Lost 6 stone in weight, sleep great, making healthier choices, came off all medication

Energy body dis-ease:  much more consistent and much more energy

Mental body dis-ease: calmer, quieter, increasing space in the mind, less thoughts 

Intuitive body dis-ease: Ah, here you are – thank you. I can trust in myself.

Bliss body dis-ease: Wow, I never knew I could feel this way.

Core of me: Om. I bow with deep respect to that which is in you and me. Namaste.

Before Yoga

Through living Yoga